


Flying by Ear

by madnina



Series: Cabin Pressure/Sentinel fusion [1]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels & Guides, Guide!Arthur, M/M, Post-Apocalypse, Sentinel Senses, Sentinel!Doglas, Sentinel!Martin, Sentinel/Guide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-17 11:19:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3527390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madnina/pseuds/madnina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war left scars on the world.</p><p>The most immediately noticeable were the dead zones. Large swathes of land and ocean, thousands of square kilometers wide, rendered completely inhospitable. The particle bombs has distorted the Earth’s geomagnetic field, causing these lingering electromagnetic instabilities where no instrument or computer would function. </p><p>Nobody went into the dead zones. No matter if you flew over it, swam under it, or walked into it. Those who did, never came out. </p><p>Nobody, that is, except MJN Air.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flying by Ear

“Golf Echo Romeo Tango India. Approaching Samara deadspace. Engaging instrument shutdown.”

“Roger, Golf Echo Romeo. Logging deadspace entry. See you on the other side, chaps.”

With a groaning sigh, Douglas removed his headphones and stretched his arms back over the seat, earning a satisfactory click of his upper spine. He then stretched out his legs and closed his eyes, reclining in his seat like a lazy housecat. Martin gave a smirk, shutting off the last of the radio and GPS systems. Flying deadspace was taxing on their senses, but he couldn’t deny he enjoyed it too, when the faint buzz of electromagnetic energy went blissfully silent.

That was what the deadzone was. Mostly silent. Like being in a stadium covered in felt, walking in your socks. He re-affirmed his grip on the control column as he felt his senses extend, beyond the flight deck, beyond GERTI, into the void around him. And as the silence enveloped them, he started to really _hear_. The flowing susurrus of the airstream carrying GERTI. The little raindrop patters of air currents caressing the aeroplane fuselage. The drag the air made on the metal plane, counteracted by the speed provided by the pre-existing momentum and the jet propellers, burning like silent furnaces. He held the whole plane like an equation of sounds in his mind, letting his hands adjust the control column by themselves.

There was a gentle click as Arthur stepped into the flight deck, then another as he shut the door behind him. Martin didn’t look back but smiled as he held out his hand in a silent request. Arthur slid his own hand in Martin’s, grasping it gently. In his own mind, Martin felt the soft prod of a question mark, asking for permission.

“It’s fine”, he hummed, breaking the spell of silence on the flight deck. “Jet stream’s steady today. I don’t think there’ll be any turbulences.”

“Brilliant! Mum's having a nap in the passenger seat. I don’t think she got much sleep after the storm last night.”

“Ugh, it was ruddy awful,” drawled Douglas. “Did you see the state of the dock this morning?”

“Yeah! The hotel receptionist said they haven’t ever seen squid that big.”

“Shame we had to leave. I could’ve done with a round of free sushi.”

Martin grimaced. “I hope they didn’t. I’ve heard reports saying deadwater’s full of highly aggressive bacteria. They say they’re even resistant to antibiotics.”

While he spoke, Arthur’s other hand caressed his neck, then found its way down Martin’s chest. Martin moved Arthur’s other hand to join it, leaning Arthur over in a strange half-hug from behind the pilot’s chair. Arthur casually dropped his chin to rest on the top of Martin’s head in response. His mind rubbed against Martin’s like a cat against its owner’s leg.

Douglas rolled his eyes.

“It’s a routine flight. You spoil him, Arthur.”

“If he doesn’t get any turbulences, Mum can sleep the whole way until we land.”

“Mmh. I think I might be getting a little jealous.”

Martin scoffed. He would have retorted something, but Douglas didn’t really sound as if he actually cared - after all, Arthur had sat with him the whole flight out.

And anyways, when was there ever any jealousy over Arthur? Arthur was a generous Guide, always comforting, never needing to be asked for it. Every time his mind touched theirs, they felt the sincerity of his kindness. He genuinely cared. Martin thought he could lose himself in the cottonny goodness of that feeling, if it wasn’t for the sharp prod of the constant noises around GERTI. Arthur touching him made it easier to focus. His senses were clear yet never overwhelmed him. Knowing Arthur would keep him from zoning, he pulled all his energy into making GERTI fly as smoothly as a train on rails.

Five hours to Fitton.


End file.
